On Friday, October 30th, Bob Blake of the University of Florida Bookstore joined us on a visit to see Kathie DuPree of St. Francis House. She has coordinated With a Purpose's donation of 450 solid color blankets, all being made possible by Florida Gators Blanket for a Blanket purchases. Many of those purchases come from sales at the University of Florida Bookstore, which Bob Blake oversees as the District Director.

St. Francis House of Gainesville has served the Gainesville community since the 1980s. They currently house 35 residents at a time at their primary facility, including families with children. When the weather drops below 40 degrees, they will take in an additional 60 people each night. They also serve 16 women and children via their Arbor House facility. Additionally, single men and women are also supported in transitioning back to independent living through a 33 unit efficiency apartment that they run. St. Francis also tries to help its clients get back on their feet by providing bus passes and helping and encouraging them to access other services and resources. Beyond feeding their own residents, they also provide a daily meal open to anyone in need in the local community.

PICTURES FROM GAINESVILLE

On our way to St. Francis House, we stopped by The Swamp where Wilder tried to get the Old Ball Coach to throw him a pass...

...and wrestled with a Gator.

At St. Francis House, we met with Kathie DuPree who takes care of accounting and various operational tasks for the organization as well as Bob Blake the District Director from the University of Florida Bookstore. Three of us showcased three licensed blankets that Bob and his store graciously purchased and donated to St. Francis House, while Wilder showed off one of the solid color, donated blankets that matched his hoodie!

Kathie showed us the meal operations and Bob, eager to find additional ways for the bookstore to further support St. Francis, asked questions and listened intently!

After a great visit at St. Francis House, the Gainesville locals directed us to where we could find some real gators at Payne's Prairie.